Arc welding apparatus



Dec. 2, 1952 Q VOLFF 2,620,422

ARC WELDING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 5, 1951 Patented Dec. 2, 1952 2,620,422 ARC WELDING APPARATUS Charles Volf, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, assignor to LAir Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour lEtude et lExploitation des Procedes Georges Claude,

Paris, France Application August s, 1951, serial No. 240,153 In France August 31, 1950 6 Claims.

My invention has, as a main object, van apparatus for welding and a process for its use, more particularly for facilitating the starting and the stabilizaiton of a welding arc between an electrode Surrounded by a hollow insulating piece and a workpiece for use with alternating or di` rect current, the insulating piece being a gas nozzle in case a shielding gas is fed around the electrode.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide in such cases an intermediate high frequency arc or spark discharge produced between the electrode and the work piece.

Another object is to provide a luminous or corona discharge produced around the electrode and elongated towards the work, thus enabling a high frequency arc or spark discharge to appear for the initiation of the welding arc at a distance, that is without the end of the electrode touching the work piece.

Another object is to initiate and sustain the luminous or corona discharge when the electrode lis maintained far apart from the work piece, the

rounded with a stream of shielding gas, forinstance l a monoatomic gas vsuch as argon or helium.

Heretofore the initiation of the welding arc is usually obtained by a high frequency produced by a spark gap generator. Regulations prohibiting the generation of stray waves which are liable to disturb radio transmissions and generally all applications of radio-frequency waves make it necessary to use high frequency generators having a well defined and stable frequency, and such conditions can be met easily only by generators utilizing electronic tubes.

In case such generators are used, the obtention of a high frequency voltage on the electrode, high enough to allow the initiation of the welding arc at a distance, requires a very high frequency voltage which is difcult to obtain and requires high power generators or complicated devices.

The present invention obviates these drawbacks and is particularly suitable for the use of electronic high frequency generators.

The invention may be briefly summarized as follows. It comprises an arc welding apparatus which has an electrode connected to a Welding current source of which the other pole is connected to the workpiece. The electrode is surrounded by an insulating piece. An electrically conducting ring surrounds the exterior of the in sulating piece. There are respective direct connections between the electrode and the workpiece and respective poles of a high frequency generator producing continuous waves. There is anindirect connection between the conducting ring and the pole of the high frequency generator which is connected to the workpiece. which connection includes a capacitor having a high reactance to the welding current. The distance between the electrode and the conducting ring in respect of the high frequency potential is sufficiently high'to produce a luminous discharge around the electrode. The ring is placed on the front part of the insulating piece whereby it is adapted to produce the luminous discharge around the front part of the electrode.

The accompanying drawing shows by way of example an apparatus for carrying out this invention, the single figure being a diagrammatic view of said apparatus.

The reference numeral l denotes an electrode made for instance of nonconsumable metal which is supported by an electrode-holder vor welding torch 2 terminated by an electrically insulating nozzle 3 surrounding the extremity of electrode I to provide in the annular space 4 the passage of an inert shielding gas for shielding the are. Electrode l is connected to a transformer 6 furnishing the welding current and to a winding 'l in which is induced the high frequency current (for instance l0 megacycles) produced by a generator not Shown.

The insulating nozzle 3 is surrounded in its front part by a conducting ring 9 connected either to the welding current conductor I0 which assures the return of current from the piece to be welded to the transformer or to the work I3 to be welded. This conductor I3 is preferably placed on the exterior of the insulating material body I5 of the apparatus. In order to avoid welding current passing through this conductor, a condenser ll is branched between ring 9 and return cable IU; this condenser must show a low impedance at the high frequency which is utilized and a high impedance at the frequency of the welding current. The high frequency voltage of the high frequency generator thus appears between electrode l and ring 9 and there is produced for a sulicient high frequency voltage a 3 luminous discharge or corona surrounding the electrode. When the electrode is far from the work, the luminous discharge shows the form 8 shown by full lines; when the electrode is neared to the v\zork,.thev luminous zone becomes longer towa-rdsthework due to the l'iig'hipotential` gradient existing between the electrode and the work than between the electrode and the ring and assumes the form 8' shown in dotted lines. This lengthening gives rise to an intermediatelhghj frequency arc or spark discharge, thentoya welding arc as soon as the distancezbetween-*electrode and piece has become small enough.

In order to avoid the formation of an arc' between electrode I and ring 9 the front part II of the insulating nozzle 3 mustproject relatively-.to the ring so that the path I2 around thefnozzleS along which the high frequency spark1between electrode and said ring could strike is longer than .the sparking distancebetween electrode andv ring 'fonthelhighjfrequency voltage whichis utilized. .Thesame method can be utilized with a highifrequency .voltage which'. is .insuiiicient vfor obtaining the self,.striking of .the corona discharge'when the electrode is cold. "In 'that case* the "corona discharge .iscause'dpto be struckV by .touchingwith .the electrode.evenplaced'farfromthe work a metallic `Vpiece whichis preferablyiinsulate'd as .tol'thewelding circuiti having a' low capacity rela- .,tivly to `the ground, Lthis lpiecephaving ,possibly Lhowevenafew square. surface centimeterspfor instance. alfountainpen clip kor the metallic part .-.ofascrewidriver with aninsulatinghandle. The electrodethus surrounded by'ithe luminous clis-V ,charge' is .then neare'djto the .work and lthev welding.a1'c iis then .struckin'` the same manner as vabove described.

.The'jinsulating, body orhandle M' is surrounded lby. ametallicperforated screen l 6 connected to the ground .by conductor H.

Fromtheaboveit will be seen that withoutthe presence ofthe ,metallic ring S the luminous or Vcorona .discharge .whichpcan be easily started'by :contacting the .electrode with ya'-metall:icf iliece such as ltheweldingtable, maintains 'bydtse'lf onlyiif the electrode remains'linthei neighbour-1.

4 rounding the exterior of the said insulating piece, said electrode and said workpiece having respective direct connections to the respective poles of a high frequency generator producing continuous waves, an indirect connection only between said ring and the pole of said high*t frequency generator which is connected to the'workpiece, said in- ,direct connection including a capacitor having "a high reactance to the welding current, the distanceibetween the electrode and the ring in respect ofthe high frequency potential being sufyficientlyhigh to produce a luminous discharge laround#the-"electrode, said ring being placed on Athe frontjpart'of the insulating piece whereby it is adapted to produce the said luminous discharge .around theiront part of the electrode.

thus providing for the possible ydischargebetween the electrode and the metallic piece, ta'pathin the'air longer than'the sparkingdischarge distance at the highirequency voltage lexisting between said electro'de and said ring.

5. An arc welding apparatus, according to v--claim l, in which'saidconnection isto theV ground a through 4an electric Aconductor anda capacitor in series `with said -conductonf--the lcapaci-torhaving a lhigh reactance Ato the welding-current and-a small reactance tofthe high Afrequency current.

6. An arc YWelding `apparatus according 4to claim 1, having an insulating handle, in-which v said connection is toi the ground throug-hjanselecltric conductorandsa capacitor inY seriesew-it-h'said conductor, vthe conductor-beingplaced'alongz the exterior surface of `the Yinsulating handle.

CHARLES VOLFF.

REFERENCES Y CITED The. following references .are -.,of. record in the :.ile of this ,patenti UNITED STATES- PATENTS Number kName `Date 2,423,515 Morris vrJu1y18; 1950 2,516,016 Pakala iJulyf8,-1950 2,516,037 Williams July-18,1950 2,532,807

Girard Dec. 5,11'0 

